#// (bc i didn't think any one line in particular made a good title for this

[knighteclipsed]

when children go to war.

a drabble: following round 1 of boel this year. word count: 353 words

Valter didn’t stick around after his victory.

There was no point—to waste time on waiting, on watching when he could be out there in the brawl. Already, this year’s bout was turning out better for him than the last: he’d even had the chance to avenge himself, in part, about his prior loss to the Golden Deer. (He would not be satisfied, of course, until he brought the Lions to victory as well.) The task was a simple one, really, and he would continue this road until the end.

Lance shatters the grass, crunching dirt; an odd angle. (It’s mostly the result of the suddenness with which he sent it flying.) Iron stood not too far away, easily within hand’s reach if he dashed, but for now–

‘You know, I still treasure that flower crown.’ (A self-absorbed scoff.)

For what was the purpose of such an asinine comment? To remark to a stranger that you ‘cherished’ something from them—really, it only spoke of her more than anything. (To value it to begin with was a foolish thing, but to bring it up as they were opponents, combatants, enemies–)

A crunch from a near distance. Head jerks around, spotting pink—flames conjured to descend; the Moonstone steps back, using the magic as cover. The crackle becomes footsteps, the light casting shadows—he always had thoughts on forests, but for now, it was the sight of an attempted ambush. Hand draws the new weapon acquired from the Golden Deer.

Click.

And the student falls—not dead though, importantly. (It didn’t take much analysis though for Valter to recognize the ease with which it could happen.) Instead, they are only disarmed; rendered incapable of fighting but not of committing the long trek back to camp. It is not the priestess, of course, for he had already defeated her. (The thought isn’t even worth having, to be frank—that somehow, he had not succeeded.) Eyes widen in the shadows, locking for but a moment before Valter smiles, stepping back.

Because in the end, the fight is all that matters. (Sentimentality could find a place in the heart of a weaker man.)

Imitation Dakka acquired!

[bloodied-dagger]

some song recs based off lyrics

@rainbowangel110 has asked, so I shall deliver

did I spend entirely way too much time on this? Yes. Was it worth it? Probably not. Did I have to add the lyrics I related to the most for every single song? No, but rainbow specifically mentioned the lyric posting and it's fun soooooo (anyways it's 4:30 AM over here so. if you see any mistakes, no you didn't. I'll edit this in the morning so it won't have any)

Complete list without the commentary is at the bottom. List is in a Song Title - Artist format

Alternative

“Alternative” is being very loosely used here, there will be other genres mixed in here. Also, there is no particular order for this bit

I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons This is probably the most country song you'll ever get out of me, right next to the Nickleback song I've got in there

'Cause I will wait I will wait for you And I will wait I will wait for you

BREATHING UNDERWATER - Hot Milk This is very alt-rock emo of me, sorry rainbow

I tried breathing underwater to drown out the doubt Cracked under the pressure and nearly bled out You said you'd always save me - so where are you now? Feels like I'm failing, I'm dancing while drowning alone

Bells - The Unlikely Candidates Honestly I don't really care about the lyrics for this one, I just think I should throw something a bit more mellow after that last one and it's a good song so

And where we go, nobody knows Those bells are ringing, ringing loud Oh lord, we're going down - six underground Those bells are ringing, ringing loud

Razzmatazz - I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME Once again I throw a song in for the vibes and not the lyrics. Sue me

And now, well Some things just cannot be fixed With sparkled tongues and politics In a fascist little paradox, we all become anonymous

Rule #11 - My Dream, My Addiction - Fish in a Birdcage Okay, last one I'm adding for the vibes- for now

I, I've never seen a storm this fierce I, am feelin' rather small in here As the walls start to compress Shifting, squirming, restlessness

For You - Loveless Alright now here's a song I'm adding for the lyrics. It's also more on the rock song but it's not that heavy I don't think (maybe minus the bridge where it goes all heavy metal baseline for 8 or so bars)

Wasted my time Why would I ever waste another line on you, you? Crossing the line Why would I ever tell another lie for you, you?

Apologies - acloudyskye You must be something else if you thought we were getting out of this list without a skye song in here. This one isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea bc it's electronic but I like it so

I often think about their lives A fault in me I can't deny And in the end I won't even think So, apologies for all these things

Broken Zipper - Group Project You know I had to put a gp song on here somewhere. This one's def a more feel good song, also one I use to call myself out on with when I'm getting pissed about the little things Although it is a love song about crushing on your best friends sister or something? Whatever

You spend one week's worth of pay on your night out Wrote in pen and ran out of white out Lost your shades and it's much too bright out But who the fuck cares when you're breathing fine right now?

Could've Been Me - The Struts This song has made me cry, and that's an achievement when it's as upbeat of a song as it is

I wanna live better days Don't want to look back and say "It could've been me It could've been me"

Playing Dead - VIOLÀ Came because the song is an emo banger, stayed because I related to it a little while later. This one's also very rock, but I have to have a few in here

But if this is the last time I say sorry Then I'll take it back, 'cause I don't mean it You are the cancer in my body I'm done playing dead 'cause I still feel it

Through the Ghost - Shinedown No idea what living "through the ghost" means but it sounds poetic as hell

Speak of the devil, Look who just walked into the room The guilty invaded notion Of someone I once knew

Reason for Living - Morgan Page This song is actually for the beat saber soundtrack, and so is the next one. Naturally, it's on the more electronic/dance side of things but some of the lyrics are Big Mood™ so

'Cause I don't even sleep no more these days No such thing as staying up too late And nobody's at home waiting for me I'm staying up on a feeling - it's the reason for living

Heavy Weight (feat. Beat Saber) - Lindsey Stirling The fact that beat saber can get lindsey-fucking-stirling on a song is kind of crazy to me. Like. What

Heavy weight Feel it in my past mistakes But I think I've carried them For way too long

Inertia - AJR The shortest songname - artistname on this whole list, probably because it's competition is an artist who's name is abbreviated to IDKHBTFM. Anyway, when this came out I fucking Felt It hearing these words for the first time, and they still hit me the same way (maybe even more effectively than before)

An object in motion Don't ask where I'm going 'Cause where I am going is right where I am (Oh man!)

Alma Mater - Group Project This song reminds me of good times. Maybe not better times, but good ones that're long gone now.

I said "Hey, Why we always end up staying out late, Staying out late?"

It's a love song but I'm 100% not focused on that at all /gen

(Sad, yet) Impactful

Little commentary, songs in order of how impactful each of them are in my opinion (top = least, bottom = most) Also a good portion of these are probably heartbreak songs or smth but I'm pretending they're not like an aromantic would

Cellphone - Promoting Sounds & Nate Kest

It's getting late, I sipped too much Look at me strange, I'll be too blunt I'm easy to hate; I'm hard to love But you love me anyway - or is it lust?

I Won't Beg for You - Chri$tian Gate$

'Cause I won't beg for you, my dear These knees have bled, pulled out my hair Didn't know you tried to burn us down Even when we tried to work it out

Call Me - Shinedown

I finally put it all together But nothing really lasts forever I had to make a choice that was not mine I had to say goodbye for the last time

By The Way - Theory of a Deadman I usually listen to the "(Acoustic) [Bonus Track]" version of this song when I'm sad. figured that was worth mentioning so it isn't out of place (a hard rock song in the middle of a slower song list)

By the way You left without saying goodbye to me Now that you're gone, away All I can think about is you and me, you and me

Rayleigh Scattering - acloudyskye

And if it gets better It's taking forever And what's with this weather? It's not getting better

Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi

So Before you go Was there something I could've said to make it all feel better? If only I had known you had a storm to weather

Landing In London - 3 Doors Down

And when the night comes in around me And I don't think I'll make it through I'll use your light to guide my way 'Cause all I think about is you

Ashes of Eden - Breaking Benjamin

Are you with me after all? Why can't I hear you? Are you with me through it all? Then why can't I feel you?

To Build a Home - Grace Page

And I built a home For me, for you Until it disappeared From me, from you And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust...

Better Than Me - Bohnes

'Cause I Know that you Deserve better than me Better than me, yeah

My Body Is a Cage - Peter Gabriel This one's only here because of that full orchestra impact moment honestly

I'm standing on a stage Of fear and self doubt It's a hollow play But they'll clap anyway

No Time To Die - Billie Eilish

I should've known That I'd leave alone Just goes to show That the blood you bleed is just the blood you owe

My Immortal - Effervescent

These wounds won't seem to heal This pain is just too real There's just too much that time cannot erase

Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol

If I lay here If I just lay here Would you lie with me And just forget the world?

Somewhere Out There - acloudyskye

It's over Oh, and under Under we go So far below

Full list, no commentary:

Alternative

I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons

BREATHING UNDERWATER - Hot Milk

Bells - The Unlikely Candidates

Razzmatazz - I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

Rule #11 - My Dream, My Addiction - Fish in a Birdcage

For You - Loveless

Apologies - acloudyskye

Broken Zipper - Group Project

Could've been me - The Struts

Playing Dead - VIOLÀ

Through the Ghost - Shinedown

Reason for Living - Morgan Page

Heavy Weight (feat. Beat Saber) - Lindsey Stirling

Inertia - AJR

Alma Mater - Group Project

Impactful

Cellphone - Promoting Sounds & Nate Kest

I Won't Beg For You - Chri$tian Gate$

Call Me - Shinedown

By The Way (Acoustic) [Bonus Track] - Theory of a Deadman

Rayleigh Scattering - acloudyskye

Before you go - Lewis Capaldi

Landing in London - 3 Doors Down

Ashes of Eden - Breaking Benjamin

To Build a Home - Grace Page

Better Than me - Bhones

My Body Is a Cage - Gabe Peters

No Time to Die - Billie Eilish

My Immortal - Effervescent

Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol

Somewhere Out There - acloudyskye

[booktomoviebrawl]

We are not judging how bad the movie is, we are judging which adapted the book the worst. There are good movies that are bad adaptions.

Propaganda below the cut (spoilers may apply)

Persuasion (2022):

They massacred my girl!! That is not Anne Elliot!! The whole point is that she's beaten down and thinks she's missed her chance at happiness and is bullied by her family, not making mean and snarky nods to the camera :( They completely missed the whole point of the dynamic and it's SICKENING! They also cut Mrs Smith who is arguably one of the most important characters as she highlights Anne's lack of focus on title and rank and her family's comparative obsession with it + it's only through her that Anne learns about Mr Elliot's true nasty nature. Also they cut the 'I am half agony, half hope' line from Wentworth's letter at the end so what's even the POINT of adapting it if you don't have that!! Oh my god!! My poor favourite Austen novel :( (I do want to make it very very clear that my issues with the movie come from the writing and adaptation and not in any way from the race blind casting. The casting is superb and I'm genuinely so disappointed that they got such a bad adaptation bc so many of the cast are literally perfect)

Where do I even start? They tried to 'modernize' both the protagonist and the love story and managed to take out everything that made it good in the first place. Anne Elliot in the novel is quiet and good and helpful, full of regret. In the movie, she constantly turns to the audience to mock everyone around her, feeling so much better than everyone, to the point where nobody understands why Captain Wentworth would still be in love with her, or have fallen in love with her in the first place. Eight years before the plot starts, she broker her engagement to him because she was persuaded by a family friend that it was a bad idea. No way would movie!Anne have let herself be persuaded. They just tried to do a Fleabag/Emma type of thing without understanding what made either the novel or those two things work and thereby ruined it completely

Whoever made this didn't understand the point of the novel at all. They completely screwed up the character of Anne Elliot (the protagonist), which in turn screws the rest of the movie, as the original story only works because Anne is the way she is. Also, it's a period piece but the characters are talking in modern slang the entire time. And not in a clever way but in a very cringey one. If Jane Austen knew, she'd probably turn in her grave, and rightfully so.

Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'hoole:

While the animation is gorgeous, it unfortunately condenses basically the entire series into one movie which makes for a very rushed end product that misses a lot of the best moments and characters of the series

While I do enjoy the movie, it acts less as an adaptation, per-se, and more of a... *reimagining* of the books which it's based on. Quite a few plot points, settings, and characters are either cut out or merged, at least a few characters were created specifically for the movie, characters' personalities and relationships are notably altered from the books, characters and ideas are explicitly introduced significantly earlier in the movie than they were in the series, in part because of their merger with other characters and factions... one particular plot point that has always stood out to me was Soren and Eglantine reuniting with their parents at the end of the movie, while in the books they were killed before the events of the third book (which was the final one being adapted, so to speak, by the movie), having been murdered by their third and eldest child, Kludd. This is all putting aside my own personal gripes about character design choices and species alterations between the books and movies, which were presumably more stylistic choices than anything - The Guardians of Ga'Hoole wiki's page for the movie actually has a whole section dedicated to noting the differences between the books and film. I do truly believe that Legend of the Guardians is a worthwhile movie both for fans of the books and those who have never read them, but it is best treated as a standalone reimagining of the story, rather than an adaptation.

They attempted to squash the plots of a 20+ book series into a single movie. It did not make for a cohesive or compelling plot. Ruining any possibility of creating a sequel. Also messed up the worldbuilding.

Different villainous groups were merged completely undermining the commentary the books were trying to make.

Showed information/backstory reveals that was supposed to be revealed later in the series, robbing it of any mystery or significance. The audience was not given a reason to care.

Warped the characterisation of one of the protagonists from contemplative and philosophical to a fool who makes lame jokes.

[chlorinecake]

"The Sheep's Garden" title is so cute I was almost deceived. Almost. I read it and went back to stare at it mindlessly for a good few minutes after realizing the ominous undertone associated with it. It's literally, genuinely unsettling. You portrayed the title's essence effectively in your story too like... and even though it was twisted I admit feeling a somewhat shameful attraction to it 😅 *I'm crying*

I'm glad @/starrywonie and @/@hee-pster encouraged you to start a blog❤️ and replying to ur answer on the previous ask, half of my family are teachers and unfortunately I didn't inherit their smarts in math but I think I'm doing quite fine in the literature department. Ofc my literature and writing are still in the process of progressing because I genuinely feel there's so much out there that I can learn from. but the love for arts runs in the family and so much like u, it's been something I've known all my life. Seeing as we're a bunch of artists in different fields, writing, painting, any forms of creation! I think my love for writing truly blossomed at the end of 2018, and 2019 is when I took up the challenge of bringing my thoughts to life. I started on wattpad and somehow gained an audience which literally shook me because It was just me ranting on and on. I had a lost to say and people seemed ready to listen. I had a 1D phase🙈 not surprising lmao, and that brought me to wattpad, kpop made me stay, and kdramas officially opened that gateway for my writing journey to begin.

Despite occasional glitches and hiccups, the engagement and interactivity of this app are pretty good so I stay🫣 but lately, I'm mostly lurking. I think @/starrywonie is slowly getting antsy. I can see her eyes twitching from across the world. 🫣🤭

─ Hayzie

Ugh 😩 I absolutely LOVE the way you describe things… but yeah, this story in particular has ALWAYS been a ~special~ one for me to write, and as much as I try to prevent it by making Jungwon progressively more insane with each update (👹), the readers keep falling for his twisted ways :’] I guess that’s the charm manipulation *cries with you*

I’m really thankful for discovering those blogs when I did, too, hehe 🩵 That’s really interesting tho how half of your family is made up of educators and artists across different fields… most often than not, mathematics just doesn’t translate well with ppl more geared towards literature and the arts, so you’re not alone 🤧. And omg, the 1D era was such a time to be alive 🫠… I was never really a huge fan of them growing up bc I was honestly more of a JB girly (still am 🥲) but can I use the word bias for a non-kpop group 😭 ?!? Idk, but basically I’m just curious as to who your favorite member was back then…

“Kpop made me stay.” This is a crazy line bc it makes me realize just how much music affects our lives in so many different areas.

And yes ☝️ Tumblr is infamous for her MANY technological inconsistencies, but its always fun to hang around here either way… whether that be as a fellow writer… or lurker 😶‍🌫️ And OOP- Nanaa ~~~ your virgo is showing 🤭

[bixxelated]

It's gotta be for all these acts of violence, and I would love to see 4, 5, 7, and 9!

aaaa thank you! <3

(ask meme for my fics)

(all these acts of violence | stranger things fanfic)

4: What's your favorite line of dialogue?

this one:

Implying that Will has other reasons to forgive him? Like what? Mike doesn't think he's done anything particularly special for Will since their argument… “Okay… okay. Good. And...” he takes a deep breath, “and about the other thing I said, at the garage. Y-you know I’m sorry about that too, right?” Will’s eyes soften. “I know.” “I didn’t—I don’t want to pressure you into saying anything. You don’t owe me, or anyone else, any sort of explanation, whatever you are okay? Especially if you’re not comfortable with it. But I hope you know I’ll always have your back, no matter what.” Will reaches for his hand, and squeezes. “I know, Mike.” “Okay,” Mike says, willing his racing heart to calm back down even as he squeezes back. “Good. So long as you know… good.”

love me some soft supportive almost-coming-out scenes. i always thought it was interesting that mike's outburst ("its not my fault you dont like girls!") while horrible and with some pretty awful timing... seemed to imply that... what? he noticed will has no interest in girls? he realized that it wasn't just that will was a late bloomer but something more? theres a lot of subtext there i really wanted to dig my claws into

will's always been the target of homophobic bullying as seen in previous seasons, and altho we never see the kids comment on queerness one way or another, so it seems like there HAD to have been some serious math going on mike's bratty little noggin about will's sexuality at one point? but despite growing up in a family that most likely would have frowned on those inclinations, to say the least, mike kept his questions to himself and kept being will's friend, whereas someone else might freak out, or be more confrontational or simply slowly stop being around a suspected gay person without an explanation. so playing on the dialogue after ("look, im not trying to be a bad guy" or something along those lines) i sort of wanted to expand on that headcanon a lil and kinda lean on mike wheeler's "screw the rules, i can have more than one best friend/ i like you so i will now die for you" personality

5: What part was hardest to write?

the last chapter right now I'd say part 1 of the epilogue (aka chapter 13)! mostly because it explores an aftermath that we didn't see in canon, with a bunch of ideas i had that were pretty vague and hard to make cohesive, and season 4 hadn't been mentioned much at that point so i had no idea what to expect and was kinda stressing out about deviating too much from canon. but i really had a lot of fun with putting all the scenes together and im really proud of it now

7: Where did the title come from?

from a song called revolution by misterwives! particularly the lyrics, "all these acts of violence, ripping this world to shreds/while I'm trying to sleep, oh how could I sleep?"

i thought that particular verse was pretty fitting to the whole theme of the fic (esp the whole ripping the world to shreds bit as a metaphor for the gates opening hehe) and so thats why i made it the title!

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

kjhgjb uh not really? from the start acts of violence was always meant to be a fic that was going to run parallel to canon bc i do not have the energy to go fully canon divergence with this particular idea and wanted to work on some other projects like wavelength besides. akdfjdsdkgjsd it was always meant to be a sort of practice fic, almost!

but i will say that for chapter 13 there was a moment where i wanted to make mike's awakening with nancy and karen (and sam owens) to be in a military base away from hawkins, on the basis of his leg being infected with extradimensional alien bacteria that a normal hospital would have no idea how to treat and the government would want to keep a close eye on. that however felt like one plotline too many to introduce and resolve when the fic's so close to ending so i cut it out and only left some of those bits in (ie: karen's confrontation with sam, mike developing an infection, etc)

thank you for the ask!

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

I guess I will join the contingent of kpop lurkers to ask if you had any thoughts on skz’s album out last week. For me I was really underwhelmed by five star and didn’t think any of it was really memorable, and I feel similarly about this one. Their title tracks in particular are just not exciting anymore, even while they’ve had some really iconic ones in the past. I think cover me might have been their best song on this album, but I’m also a sucker for pretty ballads (that don’t have as obviously cringe lyrics like youtiful), and social path was a nice closer. It might be weird to say as a fan, but I wish they’d put out less music, if only bc they churn out so much music that a lot of it becomes repetitive or just shouldn’t make the cut. Maybe they’ve hit a rut? Their rap line does almost all of the writing and production (I think mostly without any in house team) and I think it shows. Maybe I’m stuck in a different corner of the internet, but I think this release made almost no noise? Though their sales have been consistently good lately

Thank you!! That's really sweet!!

I'll be honest, it was a struggle to finish the album. My SKZ reviews are always the same. Stray Kids have so many moments of brilliance. God's Menu is fucking genius, I love The Tortoise and the Hare, their instrumentals slap. Sadly, SKZ don't live up to their potential. Their songs follow a very consistent formula and I can't stand it anymore atp - the first 10 seconds of a song are always great and you think the song is going to be epic, then Felix, Changbin, etc. rap (too expected now), but when the slow pre-chorus comes I feel like throwing my hands up in frustration. It's always the same terrible slow chorus, followed by a beat drop chorus, and a slow bridge. I'm so absolutely done with this formula.

Even Changbin's rap annoys me now tbh. He's good but he always raps the same way, and it makes every song sound the same. I think Han is more versatile.

SKZ have charisma and energy performing, but their lack of skills holds them back a lot when the song and choreo aren't good. Han and Changbin are the only ones who can rap - Hyunjin is pretty weak and Felix is a bit better, but not good either - and no one sings well - Han and Seungmin are the best, but their tones aren't very pretty. The group suffers a lot because no one has a very attractive voice. I.N is pretty weak vocally.

Also, their dancing skills are not great overall. Lee Know doesn't have the best stage presence and has a lot of weaknesses and Hyunjin has plenty of weaknesses too. I often think Han looks the best executing the whole choreo. He's pretty talented.

Anyway, I didn't like the title track - they haven't had a strong title track in a while - and I think I liked Leave the most? I listened to the album yesterday so I can't remember.

I agree that they release a lot of music, but even if they put out less of it, it wouldn't be better? They just need to break the formula and write better lyrics. The instrumentals are already good.

Thanks for the ask!

[fullspacecommunism]

Dragon Age 2 Review

Spoilers below the cut

I like this game more than I dislike it. My likes are easy: every companion is always at least a little bit at odds with Hawke at any given point, but ultimately Hawke is a capable leader that all of them felt ready and willing to follow (even Fenris who I didn't do all his companion quests for bc I forgor 💀). There are some big game choices which I actually had to ponder what decision I would take. The storytelling of Act 2 in particular was quite excellent. I really enjoyed most if not all of the banter, sometimes having two companions that HATE each other was far more entertaining that everyone who agrees with me 100%. Sometimes the "diplomatic" or "friendship" decisions feel bad! I like having my original choices challenged by a game. I also liked the ability to be a goofy, snarky guy. And of all things, the tactics were decent. I was more willing to take advantage of them than I was while playing Origins (this doesn't mean a lot as I am not a very tactical gamer). I also didn't fall into a panic whenever Hawke died and I had to pick up mage controls! Those parts of the combat experience made me open to other classes in this title or others, which I did not expect.

What I didn't like is a much smaller list. It is, of course, seeing the same dungeons over and over, sometimes even the exact same cave doing two separate story missions. It was more of a minor annoyance than anything, but I think that in conjunction with the fact that the whole games never leaves the same location made it tiring. I also murdered way more people than I would have liked to, but I don't know if that was my own damn fault or there is just an excess of murder in this one. I was also a little peeved I was killing way less templars than I thought I would be in the final battle. Let me and the squad go at em.

Overall, I had more fun playing DA2 than I expected, and the annoyances are just that. It feels like a decent follow-up to Origins, maybe more in-line with a side story than a main title. Still a good game, it's Dragon Age, baby.

PS: Anders can do a little terrorism, as a treat.